by Nancy DiFiore Quinn

The New York Grand Lodge Foundation’s 23^rd Golden Lion Dinner was a tremendous success with over 300 guests gathered at the world-renowned Garden City Hotel.

The committee had been working late into the night the few days before the affair and arrived Friday in mid-afternoon to be sure that all plans were moving along according to schedule. Seating arrangements were checked … special 100^th Anniversary paperweights were placed at each place setting … beautiful shades of yellow roses and white hydrangea floral arrangements with flickering candles were placed on the tables … exquisite dinnerware was set … commemorative journals were placed throughout the room … the dais was set with presentation pieces, banners and flowers. Every detail was being attended to for what turned out to be both a wonderful social and financial success for the New York Grand Lodge Foundation, Inc. I must take this opportunity to thank the Roslyn Savings Foundation, Inc. for underwriting the beautiful commemorative journal distributed at this occasion. Their generosity will greatly assist us in presenting the 2005 monetary scholarship awards at our upcoming state convention in June 2005.

Guests began arriving about 7:00 P.M. to pay tribute to our 2005 Golden Lion Honorees, Joseph R. Ficalora, President and Chief Executive Officer of New York Community Bancorp, Inc. and Hon. Joseph M. Margiotta, Senior Partner in the law firm of Margiotta & Ricigliano. Also honored for his philanthropic endeavors was Citizenship Honoree, William K. Duffy, President and Business Manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 138. Since 2005 is the 100^th Anniversary of the Order Sons of Italy in America, a Special Centennial Award was presented to Hon. Antonio Bandini, Consul General of Italy. What a grand array of honorees for this event! Each had a story to tell about achieving the “American Dream” and how very proud they were of their respective heritage. Joseph Ficalora, Joseph Margiotta and William K. Duffy have all reached the pinnacle of success in their individual fields of endeavor and benevolently give back to the community at large. Hon. Antonio Bandini is a special human being who expressed how proud he is of OSIA’s desire to continue to preserve our great Italian heritage.

NYSOSIA was honored and fortunate to have Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi stop by to greet everyone on behalf of all the residents of Nassau County. Brother Suozzi always expresses his deep pride in his Italian heritage and simply “wows” the crowd. We were also privileged with the presence of our former Nassau County Executive and New York Grand Lodge Foundation Board of Advisor … Hon. Thomas Gulotta. Even though both of these fine men are of different political parties … they come together at the Golden Lion Dinner to express their love for their shared heritage.

I was so very honored to serve as General Dinner Chairperson and Mistress of Ceremony for this event. It is with great humility that I accept the opportunity to project how much Italian Americans have contributed to this wonderful country of ours … the United States of America!

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Special thanks to Tony Aiello, one of CBS 2's news reporters, for adding his “gift of voice” to our program. He added a wonderful professionalism to our presentation and expressed his pride in his Italian heritage along with his appreciation for being asked to be part of this event. Both he and his lovely wife Liz spent the entire evening with us and we were honored with their presence.

Sincere thanks to our National and State Officers, filial lodges and special dignitaries for supporting this event. Whether you purchased a journal ad … or attended the dinner, your support of this main fund raising event of the New York Grand Lodge Foundation is sincerely appreciated.

Heartfelt kudos and recognition to Dan Colantone, Connie Conte and Sylvia Summa for their solicitation of so many of our journal ads. Without their persistence and dedication to this project, our journal would never have been such a financial success.

To our OSIA Golden Lion Dinner Committee … First Lady Carol DiTrapani (who just “makes it all happen!”), Annette Lankewish … and to our Grand Lodge office staff … Executive Director Marianne Principe O’Neil, Eileen Stavis and Kathy Astrackon… many thanks to each one of you for dedicated work to this important event. Finally, to our dynamic State President Joseph DiTrapani … thank you for making us proud, for your total confidence in this exceptional committee and for allowing me to Co-Chair and Chair this affair for the past four years. It has been an experience I shall never forget!